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The HALYARD HAI WATCHDOG* Awards Program recognises the efforts of dedicated healthcare facilities for their work to reduce and prevent Healthcare-associated Infections (HAIs) through staff and patient education and the use of best practices among clinicians.

Healthcare-associated infections continue to be a concern for healthcare facilities around the world. More than 200,000 HAIs are reported in Australian acute healthcare facilities each year.§

Each winner receives an educational grant for their facility to support their continued efforts in reducing HAIs. The submissions help to reduce HAIs in Central Sterilise Services Departments (CSSDs), Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and generally throughout the hospital.

THE 2014 INFECTION PREVENTION INITIATIVE AWARD - Independently Judged

First Place

WYONG STERILISING SERVICES, NSW. This was submitted by Kerryanne Tolson and was titled 'A Moment in SSD - A Hand Hygiene Initiative.’

This project aimed to raise awareness and promote hand hygiene throughout the hospital. Using bold signage and introducing regular auditing and monitoring, the initiative was credited with improving hand hygiene compliance from 42.7% to 61.7%. Kerryanne was congratulated for her clear communication of the intent and outcomes of the project.

Honorable Mention

TAURUNGA HOSPITAL, New Zealand. This entry was submitted by Jenny Carston and was titled 'Standards Auditing.'

Jenny consulted key people to create an auditing system for the Central Sterilising Unit to improve compliance with existing hospital standards and protocols.

THE 2014 INFECTION CONTROL INITIATIVE AWARD - Clinicians Choice

First Place

NATIONAL CAPITAL PRIVATE HOSPITAL, ACT. This was submitted by Angela O'Grady and was titled 'Hands Free.'

This project sought to raise awareness of the role mobile phones play in hand contamination in the hospital setting. Many staff were surprised and by posters that carried messages such as, ‘The average mobile phone contains more bacteria than a toilet seat.’ Based on this infection control initiative, staff reported changing their behaviour to reduce the risks of mobile phone bioburden, mostly by washing their hands more after using the phone and using their mobile phones ‘hands free’ more often.

The awards and educational grants will be presented at their respective facilities soon.

§SOURCE: NHMRC, Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Infection in Healthcare (2010). Accessed from www.nhmrc.gov.au on 13 January 2015.